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For someone that is a sports and media nerd, the Super Bowl can cause a sensory overload at times. I have documented the advertisements that ran from 30 minutes before kickoff until the final whistle. The first section is broken down by the breaks, and the second section is the volume of ads that ran from each company. I also included the promos that NBC incessantly ran throughout the broadcast for comparison. A 30 second spot ran for an average of about $3.5M this year…I’ll let you do the math from here…

Very interesting to see the huge push from Hyundai, probably the hottest and fastest growing car company in the United States. The rest of the car world continued an aggressive push, and the Clint Eastwood/Chrysler/Detroit ad is obviously getting the most post-Super Bowl buzz. All of the beer companies, except Bud Light, seemed to take a bit of a step back, but we also probably saw more movie trailers than we’ve ever seen before. And again, I think we’re crystal clear on the shows that NBC really wants to succeed this spring.

A battle for legacies will take place this Sunday in Indianapolis as the Patriots and Giants square off in Super Bowl XLVI. Full breakdown of all Super Bowl scenarios as well as the hiring of Brian Johnson as Utah’s next Offensive Coordinator on today’s show with special guests Anthony Dinwoodey Morris and John Wells Stevens.

Could this NFL season be any better? Honestly, what else could we ask for? We have witnessed the greatest offensive explosion in league history with transcendent play from three Hall of Fame quarterbacks while watching the rebirth of a storied franchise under the direction of what once was a “#1 Pick” bust and an up-and-coming coach (49ers) and one of the most exciting and divisive stories in the history of sports (Tim Tebow). My goodness. In addition to a full breakdown of past, present, and future NFL Playoff games, I also spend some time on the College National Championship game, Tim Tebow’s future, the current state of the NBA, and I certainly take a poke at the tackiness of Hank Haney’s upcoming book on Tiger Woods.

There has been a great deal of talk about the quality of quarterback play in the NFL this year. Oddly enough, much of that chatter has revolved around a player that plays the game in a very unconventional way somewhat taking away from three quarterbacks that are having one of the best seasons in NFL history.

My goodness. All three players are having transcendent years, and all three players have a chance to (Brady and Brees will absolutely get it) shatter Dan Marino’s 27 year old passing record for yards in a season (5,084 yards). Brees could very well break it with 304 yards or more this Sunday with one more game to play, and Brady and Rodgers have a great chance to do so the last week of the season if everything continues as it already has.

Of these three players, Rodgers has certainly received the most attention because of his unbelievably hot start and the full year undefeated streak of his Green Bay Packers. Many have said for weeks that he has already earned the league MVP this season. It is hard for me to debate such a thing when you see the yardage he has amassed and his other-worldly TD:INT ratio, but don’t you think it’s important for us to reference the weapons they all have access to? Don’t you think it’s important for us to measure not just their quality of play, but also the value (Most VALUABLE Player…get it…VALUABLE is part of the name of the award…) they bring to their team?

Rodgers clearly has the best talent around him with Jennings, James Jones, Jordy Nelson, Donald Driver, Randall Cobb, and Jermichael Finley. The success Brees experiences mostly comes because of the comfort level he enjoys with his receiving corps because of how long they’ve played together. He does have a new and very good security blanket in Joey Graham as well. And Tom Brady continues to primarily throw to a 5’9″ (probably 4.7 sec 40 speed….maybe) receiver that isn’t beating anyone with his athleticism, an obviously lost a step Deion Branch and Chad Ochocinco, and two tight ends that most of the league overlooked because of their less than overwhelming physical skills.

I’m by no means saying that Brady deserves the MVP over Brees and Rodgers, but hasn’t he carried the heaviest load of the three quarterbacks this year (mediocre running backs, horrendous defense)? Isn’t he the most valuable player to his specific team right now? Hasn’t he done the most with the least? The Patriots continue to be the Miami Heat of the NFL…each week you can tell that the team across the ball from them has prepared especially hard to stop them. That game is their Super Bowl, but Tom Brady continues to come out and carve up any type of secondary or blitz packages you throw at him. Young and Montana had Rice. Manning had Harrison and Wayne. Brady has had….Wes Welker?

Regardless of who wins the MVP, there are three incredibly deserving players, and we know we have a must watch postseason ahead of us. Picture this…Packers v. Patriots on the turf in Indianapolis…could it get any better than that?

The Green Bay Packers fell to the lowly Kansas City Chiefs yesterday, and it was the best thing that has ever happened to them.

From Day 1 of this season, the Pack has looked as good as any team in the history of football, but they started to show more and more holes as the season has progressed….bad running game, suspect offensive line, suspect passing D. We saw similar things down the stretch with the 2007 New England Patriots. They were smoking teams by multiple touchdowns, but after a near loss to the Ravens late in the year, teams started to figure out how to slow down their offense and put some points up on their slower, veteran defense. As they continued to win, you could feel the pressure mounting. Once you get to 18-0 and you’re in the Super Bowl, there’s no way that you can just treat it like it’s the “next game.” The Patriots ran into a buzz saw. The Giants had a phenomenal second half of the season, and the Patriots seemed tired and tight in that Super Bowl. They just didn’t look like the same team that put 50+ on the Bills in three quarters earlier in the season. They weren’t just trying to be the best team that year, they were playing to be the best team EVER, and it obviously got to them. If that Giants team and that Patriots team played ten times on a neutral field that year, the Pats probably win eight or nine times. They were that much better than everyone else, but a team can only take so much pressure before cracking.

We’ve seen this type of undefeated run a few other times in recent history…

2009 Indianapolis Colts – 14-0, lost last two games. Lost Super Bowl to New Orleans Saints.
1998 Denver Broncos – 13-0, lost two of their last three. Won Super Bowl.
2005 Indianapolis Colts – 13-0, lost two of their last three. Won Super Bowl.
2009 New Orleans Saints – 13-0, last three straight. Won Super Bowl.
2011 Green Bay Packers – 13-0, lost in Week 15…Super Bowl – TBD.

Do you see a pattern there? Every other team in this modern era that started the season 13-0 went on to win the Super Bowl. Would anyone care about the 72-10 Chicago Bulls if they had ended up losing in the Finals? We all know the answer to that question. As much as the regular season matters to these teams, I can assure you that Tom Brady would have loved to drop a game or two in the regular season in 2007 if it meant winning the Super Bowl that year.

There is something that happens psychologically and emotionally to these teams when perfection is at stake. As soon as that is off the table, teams have the time and the ability to play loose, just like they’re just another team that is part of the chase. They also have a chance to look internally to see what those teams did to beat them…what are their weaknesses, what are their strengths, what kind of gameplan works best. The Patriots played so well for so long in 2007 that they just kept doing the same thing knowing that it had worked so many times before, but like the Chiefs showed this last weekend, there are certain schemes and scenarios that can shut you down regardless of how much better your are than everyone else.

The Packers are the best team in football. As long as they can be healthy for the Super Bowl run they’ll be our world champions. And they’ll probably look back on this one week and realize how helpful it was for them to get healthy over the final three weeks, refocus on their gameplans, and remove all the pressure of playing for perfection.

The Texans are one of the hottest teams in the league, 8-3, with a two game lead over division rival Tennessee. They’ve won five straight and have the second largest point differential in the league, behind only the 11-0 Green Bay Packers (Packers – +155, Texans – +114). Arian Foster is running almost as well as he did last year, and their defense continues to be dominant after the loss of Mario Williams. So do they honestly need a quarterback? Franchise QB, Matt Schaub is out for the year, and so is backup Matt Leinart after he broke his left collarbone in the first half of yesterday’s victory. Rookie from North Carolina, T.J. Yates is penciled in as the starter with former Jets backup, Kellen Clemens, as the only other signed QB on the roster. Rumor has it that the Texans plan to contact former Chiefs QB, Brodie Croyle, as a possible signing this week. Let’s call a spade a spade here…those are three bad to mediocre QBs (Clemens probably being the best of the bunch). Is this a playoff team? Absolutely. Can they win a game with any of those QBs? Probably not. Are they Super Bowl contenders with any of those QBs? Definitely not. Would this team be better if Brett Favre was playing QB instead of these three? (nodding my head emphatically) When Peter King of Sports Illustrated asked Texans GM, Rick Smith, if he would call on Favre, Smith responded that he “didn’t want to bring the circus to town.” But when Gark Kubiak was asked the same question, he responded that he wouldn’t close the door on anyone. We all know Favre is old and washed up, but he makes for some great TV. He could certainly muster up a couple of big games by year end. I say do it….even if it is just for us to follow another phenomenal storyline. It would certainly make us pay more attention to the Texans than the Cowboys…don’t pretend like the Texans ownership wouldn’t love that.

I take back everything I said about the Jets making the playoffs in yesterday’s podcast. Say what you will about Tim Tebow (and seriously, did he throw the ball this poorly in college? Why does it look like he has regressed?) the dude figures out ways to win games. Broncos are 4-1 since he took over as the starter. With the AFC West in the situation that it is (Raiders 5-4, Broncos 5-5, Chargers 4-5, Kansas City 4-5) why can’t this team make the playoffs?Image: everyjoe.com/sports/video-tim-tebow-scores-td-for-broncos/

Goodness gracious the NFL is having a great year. I feel like I can’t take my eyes off of a game even when the Jags, Chiefs, or Seahawks are involved. Anthony Dinwoodey Morris brings his unmatched expertise to discuss the NFL playoff picture, pick our favorite teams for the Super Bowl, and to discuss the tragic current state of the National Basketball Association.

Twelve games this weekend in the NFL were decided by 7 points or less (hint…there were 16 games). The season is off to an electric start and there are no signs of a slow down. Can Tom Brady throw for 6000 yards (all-time record – Dan Marino, 5084 yards)? Can the Lions and Bills keep this up? Should the Eagles be worried about their slow start? Who are the five best teams in the league today? Nate Stevens makes his first appearance on the show to answer these questions and to confirm who has the most athletic body in the NFL today.

Tiger Woods should be on the U.S. Presidents Cup team and anyone that says otherwise is talking crazy. Michael Vick is going to struggle on and off this year. Arian Foster will see a 25-30% decline in production. Terrelle Pryor will never be the starting quarterback of an NFL team. Tim Tebow may not be the Broncos quarterback right now, but they at least need to get him on the field to impact the game. The NCAA needs to clean up this mess and they need to do it fast. The NBA owners and players association need to lock themselves in a room for two weeks and sort out their differences before we start missing games after having maybe the most successful season in the history of the sport. ….man, I needed to get all of that off of my chest…enjoy the show!

How badly do you want to win your fantasy football league? I think we all would basically do anything to get that leg up on our friends and co-workers. There is something unbelievably satisfying about feeling like you “know” and “understand” football better than someone you see on a regular basis. I won my one and only fantasy football title 10 years ago this year. I still feel like that championship validates me as a sports fan…and a man. Anthony Dinwoodey Morris, maybe one of the greatest fantasy players of all time, shares with us all of his secrets to success….well….almost all of them.

After being asked if God loves football, Jason Street responded that “everybody loves football”…we got to see the truth of that statement this week. The NFL lockout is officially over and a flurry of activity has followed. Reggie Bush to Miami, Ochocinco and Haynesworth to New England, Kolb to Arizona, V. Young cut, and so much more in just a few short days.

The Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps rivalry is heating up for the 2012 Olympic Games, Bob Bradley was fired today from his post as the head of U.S. Soccer, and I’m 99% positive that Stevie Williams wears nothing underneath his white jumpsuit at the Masters.

William Jefferson Clinton won our hearts, lost them, and then won them back again. How is it that some athletes, politicians, and movie stars are able to make enormous personal/legal blunders, but then still come back to us like nothing ever happened? As long as Jason Kidd is able to go for 17 pts. and 10 assists, we don’t care if he assaulted his wife. As long as Gilbert Arenas can still drain big time threes, we’ll pay him $20M/ year and we don’t care that he pulled a gun on his teammate because of a card game. Will Anthony Weiner ever be welcomed back, a la Clinton and Spitzer? Will Plaxico Burress be embraced in the same way that we’ve embraced Michael Vick? Only time will tell. Former Valparaiso superstar, Louie Maxwell Clark III, storms back on the show with deep insights from Eliot Spitzer’s re-emergence into the public eye to his deep personal love for Ryan Reynolds.

I hope Deshawn Stevenson isn’t a regular listener of the show. My own flesh and blood, Stuart B. Anderson, makes his second official appearance to talk about breathtakingly important topics: triathlons, Miguel Angel Jimenez’s ponytail, and our favorite athlete tattoos.